Centrifugal feeder for headed parts

ABSTRACT

A centrifugal feeder is shown in which parallel rails are employed in a pick-off in combination with a plow having a cuvilinear pick-up point and a straight edge delivery to the parallel rails. The parallel rails deliver headed parts which are fed by the centrifugal feeder to a track for repositioning in various assembly units.

United States Patent Schultz [451 Apr. 25, 1972 CENTRIFUGAL FEEDER FOR-BEADED 3, 76,970 4/1968 Roseberg ..133/s x PARTS 3,215,251 11/1965 Gleason ..198/33 R1 I 3,123,251 3/1964 Schneider, Jr. ..198/33 R] [72] invent sebum 2,327,401 8/1943 Chilton ..22l/l67 x [73] Assignee: Tangen Drives, Inc., Clearwater, Fla.

Primary Examiner-Joseph Wegbreit [22] 1970 Assistant Examiner-41. S. Lane [21] App]. No.: 5,706 Attorney-Dominik, Knechtel & Godula 52 us. Cl. ..221/167, 198/33 R1 [571 ABSTRACT [51] '3'- Cl 7/12 B658 42/24 A centrifugal feeder is shown in which parallel rails are em- [58] Field of Search ..198/33 R1; 221/167, 168; ployed in a i k ff f bi i ith a plow having a cu- 133/8 vilinear pick-up point and a straight edge delivery to the paral- 56 R f d lel rails. The parallel rails deliver headed parts which are fed l e names I e by the centrifugal feeder to a track for repositioning in various UNITED STATES PATENTS assembly uniIS- 2,702,064 2/1955 Lange 198/33 R1 41 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU APR 2 5 I972 SHEET 10F 2 I INVENTOR. 4-" George E. Schufiz 46 BY w ATTORNEY S PATENTEDAPR 25 1972 sum 2 OF 2 2 I R u m m H8 ME 6 g r 0 e G Y B 00 M F A TTORNEVS CENTRIFUGAL FEEDER FOR I-IEADED PARTS The present invention relates to a centrifugal feeder, and more particularly a centrifugal feeder which is modified for the feeding of headed parts.

SUMMARY OF THE ART Vibratory feeders of the character disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,609,914 and 2,464,216 are known. These feeders rely on vibration of a bowl and an interior helical type peripheral track to feed small parts. By and large, the feed rates of such units are limited to 30 feet per minute for the maximum practical rate of parts which must be fed and oriented.

Mechanical tumble type feeders have been known for years and can be used for feeding headed parts. Such feeders, however, tumble screws, nails, and other parts in the same manner as a cement mixer tumbles the cement. This action can be abrasive and accordingly is undesirable. In addition, at higher speeds, the mechanical tumble feeders in which the cylindrical axis approximates the horizontal at higher speeds in effect become vertical centrifugal feeders.

Also known is the centrifugal feeder in which the axis of rotation is within 45 of the vertical. Heretofore such feeders have been used primarily for the feeding of billets and other large crude parts (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,489,926 and 3,049,215).

OBJECTS OF INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal feeder with a low rate of abrasion which will feed headed parts in an oriented manner at substantially higher speeds than other known devices.

A related object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal feeder for the feeding of headed parts in which the design and feed rates can be pre-calculated as a function of the RPM and diameter of the conical rotary member.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feeder for headed parts which will feed in excess of 300 parts per minute whichis economically competitive with present feeders which will orient and feed headed parts at capacities of only 40 to 100 parts per minute.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a headed parts centrifugal feeder which is adaptable to a wide variety of headed parts constructions without substantial modification and, indeed, in many instances by adjustment of the existing feeder.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The centrifual feeder illustrative of the present invention has a rotary conical central member which may be adjusted about an axis within 45 of the vertical. Peripherally about the rotary cone member is a cylindrical wall portion of a height desirably equal to or exceeding the vertical axis of the conical rotary member. A plowhaving a curvilinear portion blending partially tangentially into the cylindrical wall is provided with close clearance above the top of therotary conical portion and terminates in a flat wall. The flat wallin turn is coordinated to deliver parts along an axisapproximately central of a pair of parallel rails. The parallel rails have an end portion which is curved to come down'imme'diately atop the rotary face of the conical member. The conical member area which is juxtaposed with the parallel rail rising track approximates a circle having a diameter of one-half of the radius of the rotary conical member, and located midway between the center of the rotary conical member and its periphery. As a desirable modification, means are provided to adjustably space the parallel relationship between the parallel rails. A further modification contemplates a ramp toelevate the headed parts to thereafter drop onto the parallel rails.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Further objects and advantages as well as understanding of the invention will become apparent as the following description of an illustrative embodiment proceeds, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the subject centrifugal headed parts feeder in operation feeding a plurality of hypodermic syringe bodies.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the unit shown in FIG. 1 illustrating in shaded areas the optimum location of the parallel rail pick-off.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along section line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the relationship between the parallel rails and the hump in the conical member in the optimum pick-off area.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the adjustability of the axis of rotation of the conical member.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the adjustable feature for adjusting the parallel spacing of the parallel rails.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatically illustrative of the use of the same parallel rails for feeding additional parts such as nail heads, screws, rivets, and the like.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial section showing the clearance relationship between the plow, parallel rails, and conical surface taken along section line 9-9 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the headed parts centrifugal feeder 10 has as its principal driving member a central rotary cone 11 and a peripheral cylindrical wall 12. The same are mounted within a base 14 and pivotally adjustable about the axis of the trunion pins 52 as will be outlined hereinafter.

A plurality of headed parts 24, shown here as hypodermic syringe bodies 56, are being fed for delivery to a track (not shown) by means of parallel rails 20. As shown by the arrow surrounding the center 39 of the rotary cone 11, the headed parts 56 are driven counter-clockwise. As they proceed around the inner portion of the cylindrical wall 12, the same engage the plow 15, first at the curved end wall 16 of the plow. The curved end wall 16 (see FIG. 2) blends substantially tangentially into the cylindrical wall 12 of the headed parts centrifugal feeder 10. Thereafter the plow 15 proceeds toward the parallel rails 20 terminating in a flat wall 18, the inner face of which is adjacent to the open space between the parallel rails 20.

Thecurved end 21 of the parallel rails 20 projects downwardly to the end of the flat wall portion 18 of the plow 15. The parts are driven by the friction between the peripheral face of the rotary cone 1! and the following headed parts 56, into substantial alignment along the flat wall 18 of the plow 15. As will be observed, the alignment is random with regard to the head portion of the headed parts (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Thereafter the parts are engaged with the head portion up as the body portion drops into the space between the parallel rails 20. The parts then proceed up the curved end 21 of the rails and continue in their movement to the track end 22 of the rails where they are delivered to a track, processing maching, or to whatever other device they are being fed and oriented.

As illustrated particularly in FIG. 5, a rail adjuster 25 is provided which has a turnbuckle sleeve 26 for engaging the threaded end of the L-shaped legs 27. At the opposite end of the L-shaped legs 27, they are secured to the parallel rails 20 so that by rotating the turnbuckle sleeve 26, the internal threads 28 of the L-shaped legs 27 as well as the internal threads of the turnbuckle sleeve 26 coact to either separate the rails 20, or bring the same closer together. As illustrated in FIG. 2, two rail adjusters 25 are provided, one at the approximate terminus of the curvedend 21 of the parallel rails 20, and another at the approximate track end 22 of the parallel rails 20.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the cone face 30 of the rotary cone 11 is formed of a sheet of material which terminates its periphery in a cone peripheral edge 38. A cone base 31 of flat stock is provided to complete the exterior portion of the rotary cone 11. Centrally, a drive sleeve 32 is provided which is secured at the center of the cone face 30 and the cone base 31.

The drive shaft 34 is provided with a drive shaft collar 35 to abut the end of the drive sleeve 32 of the rotary cone 11. The drive shaft pin 36 secures the drive shaft 34 in operative engagement with the drive sleeve 32 of the rotary cone 11.

The drive mechanism itself is best illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 4. There it will be seen that a drive motor 40, perferably electrical and DC for variable speeds, energizes a motor pulley 41 and, through the means of the belt 44, rotates the drive shaft pulley 42 at a reduced speed from that of the motor 40. The drive shaft 34 is mounted in a pair of drive shaft bearings 45 and thus completes the drive assembly.

In addition to the proper orientation of the plow l5, and the parallel rails 20, the tiltable adjustability of the headed parts centrifugal feeder leads to optimum feeding results. The structure for tilting the same is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. There it will be seen, first, that the base 14 has a pair of parallel base walls 46. Traversing the base walls 46 is a base end 48. The base end 48 approximates the periphery of the cylindrical wall 12 of the headed parts centrifugal feeder 10, and is positioned beneath the tilt ear 49 which is an intergral part of the feeder and secured to the cylindrical wall 12. A tilt bolt threadedly engages the tilt ear 49 and abuts against the upper face of the base end 48. At the opposed portion of the headed parts centrifugal feeder 10, a pair of trunnion legs 51 extend from the base of the unit in approximate parallel relationship with the base walls 46. A pair of trunnion pins 52 secured to the base walls 46 pivotally engage the trunnion legs 51 of the feeder. Thus as the tilt bolt 50 is threaded to extend its shaft portion downwardly against the base end 48, the unit pivots about the trunnion pins 52, and the angle of the face of the rotary cone 11 with the horizontal is decreased.

With reference now to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, it will be seen that an optimum zone 60 is shaded for the location of the far portion of the curved ends 21 of the parallel rails 20. Particularly as shown in FIG. 3, it will be seen that the diameter D"62 of the optimum zone 60 approximates one-half of the radius R"61 ofthe rotary cone 11. Furthermore, the optimum zone 60 is positioned approximately midway between the cone center 39 and the cone peripheral edge 38. Depending upon the speed of rotation of the rotary cone 11, the type of headed parts 24 which are being fed, and whether or not the optional ramp 19 is being used, the position and orientation ofthe plow l5 and the end 21 ofthe parallel rails 20 may be altered within the optimum zone 60. If the parallel rails are located too close to the cone peripheral edge 38, the drop-off to permit the bodies of the headed parts 24 to drop between the parallel rails 20 is reduced and therefore the number of rejects substantially increased. On the other hand, if the position is too close to the center 39 of the rotary cone 11, the rate of feed will be reduced substantially.

More specifically, the positioning of the parallel rails and their orientation with regard to the flat wall 18 of the plow is shown in FIG. 9. There it will be seen that the edge of the flat wall portion 18 is adjacent the space between the parallel rails 20, and that the parallel rails at their curved ends 21 are provided with flat bottom portions 55 defining a relatively narrow clearance 54 between the rail ends 21 and the upper face ofthe cone face 30. Shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are various headed parts, for example, nails 58 are shown in FIG. 6, screws 59 are shown in FIG. 7, and rivets 57 are shown in FIG. 8.

As referred to above, a ramp 19 may be optionally employed and secured to the inner face of the flat wall 18 of the plow 15. The function of the ramp is to pre-elevate the headed parts and drop the same onto a mid-portion of the curved ends 21, of the parallel rails 20. Particularly with certain long bodied parts, the amount of spill-over and recirculation into the center of the headed parts centrifugal feeder 10 will be reduced by using the ramp 19. The ram 19 has a tapered end located closer to the curved wall end 6 of the plow 15, the

height of the ramp 19 being somewhat less than the total height of the parallel rails 20 when such dimensions are considered dynamically.

In review it will be seen that a headed parts centrifugal feeder 10 has been disclosed with a plow 15 having a curved end portion 16 and a flat wall portion 18. An optional ramp may be provided to drop the headed parts 24 onto parallel rails 20 which have an adjustable parallelism determined by the rail adjusters 25. An optimum zone 60 is defined on the face of the cone 30 having a diameter approximately half the radius of the cone 30, and positioned at approximately the transverse axis of the rotary cone 11 along an axis parallel with that of the truinion pins 52.

While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments and applications, no intention to restrict the invention to the examples shown is contemplated, but rather to include within the invention all of the subject matter defined by the spirit as well as the letter ofthe annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A centrifugal feeder for symmetrical headed parts comprising, in combination,

a rotary cone member,

a cylindrical wall at the periphery of the rotary cone member,

a drive means for the rotary cone member,

means for tilting the axis of rotation of the rotary cone with respect to the vertical,

a plow having a curved end portion bending substantially tangentially from the upper portion of the cylindrical wall,

said curved plow terminating in a flat wall portion,

a pair of parallel rails for carrying symmetrical headed parts terminating at one end in a curvilinear downwardly sloping portion defining a pick-up for such headed parts and terminating at the other end in a downwardly sloping portion for parts delivery,

the ends of the curvilinear portion of such rails being positioned approximately so that the open portion therebetween is along the plane of the flat portion of the curved plow flat wall and thereagainst as a continuation thereof,

said pick-up being further located in an area having a diameter substantially one-half of a radius of the conical rotary member,

said circular area having its center along a radius parallel with the axis of tilt of the rotary conical member and midway between the center ofthe conical member and its circular periphery,

and means for receiving the headed parts which are fed by the rotating conical member and picked up by the parallel rails for further processing.

2. In the centrifugal feeder ofclaim 1,

a ramp fixed to the flat wall portion of the plow,

said ramp having a height proportioned to drop headed parts elevated thereby onto the curvilinear portion of the parallel rails.

3. In the centrifugal feeder ofclaim 1,

a means for adjusting the parallel spacing between the tracks.

4. In the centrifugal feeder of claim 1,

the angle of said axis of rotation ofsaid rotary cone member with the vertical exceeding the angle with the horizontal of the downwardly sloping portion for delivering parts. 

1. A centrifugal feeder for symmetrical headed parts comprising, in combination, a rotary cone member, a cylindrical wall at the periphery of the rotary cone member, a drive means for the rotary cone member, means for tilting the axis of rotation of the rotary cone with respect to the vertical, a plow having a curved end portion bending substantially tangentially from the upper portion of the cylindrical wall, said curved plow terminating in a flat wall portion, a pair of parallel rails for carrying symmetrical headed parts terminating at one end in a curvilinear downwardly sloping portion defining a pick-up for such headed parts and terminating at the other end in a downwardly sloping portion for parts delivery, the ends of the curvilinear portion of such rails being positioned approximately so that the open portion therebetween is along the plane of the flat portion of the curved plow flat wall and thereagainst as a continuation thereof, said pick-up being further located in an area having a diameter substantially one-half of a radius of the conical rotary member, said circular area having its center along a radius parallel with the axis of tilt of the rotary conical member and midway between the center of the conical member and its circular periphery, and means for receiving the headed parts which are fed by the rotating conical member and picked up by the parallel rails for further processing.
 2. In the centrifugal feeder of claim 1, a ramp fixed to the flat wall portion of the plow, said ramp having a height proportioned to drop headed parts elevated thereby onto the curvilinear portion of the parallel rails.
 3. In the centrifugal feeder of claim 1, a meanS for adjusting the parallel spacing between the tracks.
 4. In the centrifugal feeder of claim 1, the angle of said axis of rotation of said rotary cone member with the vertical exceeding the angle with the horizontal of the downwardly sloping portion for delivering parts. 